Shadows of the Past and Future
by TheDemonLord06
Summary: After years of horrific, traumatizing gene experiments, a Jolteon must re-enter the world and gather up the shattered remnants of his life- And strike back at the shadowy force responsible for his mutation...
1. Undisturbed Peace

Chapter 1: Undisturbed peace

Chapter 1: Undisturbed peace

I ran as fast as I could, dodging rocks and the occasional log. I had no particular reason to hurry, as my mother didn't expect me home for at least another hour, but I didn't mind. I like to run. That's why my mom named me Dash.

My mother says that young Eevee who like to run will often become Jolteons. I'm not really sure what evolution I'd like to be when I grow up (the only Eevee evolution I've seen is my mother, Bonnie, a Flareon), but if Jolteons run fast, then they're probably cool. My cousin, who lives downriver of us, recons that he wants to be an Espeon when he grows up. He's never seen one, but he's heard stories about 'em, and thinks it'd be cool to have psychic powers. He acts like he's some sort of expert on Eevee evolutions just 'cause he's seen more than me (He caught a glimpse of a Vaporeon once).

My family has lived in this wood for as long as I can remember. My mother told me that my Grandfather told her that we didn't always live here. Our family was driven out of our ancestral lands by an army of conquering Pokemon. When I asked her why those Pokemon wanted our home, she said that Grandfather never told her. It's hard to imagine that we ever lived anywhere but this quiet, peaceful, undisturbed wood.

Our family fled into this wood, where we were sympathized with and accepted by the local Pokemon. For a long time, out family was a very popular one, always being sought after for advice and helping out needy Pokemon. Almost everyone was acquainted with our family in one way or another.

Then, almost all my family, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles alike, made various preparations, and marched to the coast. My mother says I'm not ready to know why yet, but that she'll tell me when I'm old enough. But the way she describes it, it sounds like they were preparing for war or something. Anyway, they left for the coast, leaving only my mom, me, her sister-in-law, and my cousin left. It's been a few years now, and they still haven't returned.

My mom tells me and my sister that dad will return eventually, but a few times I've caught her crying when she thought I was asleep, and I don't think she believes that. I wasn't old enough to really have any memories of my father, even though mom says I was technically "born" at that point. After my father (a Vaporeon) left with the others, my mom found out that she was pregnant with Abbey, my younger sister. Abbey isn't really old enough to understand the concept of death, but she still tries to cheer up mom when she gets in one of her depressive moods.

Anyway, today it had been my job to collect the berries for lunch, and like most things, I had finished it early. Now I was enjoying the excitement and exhilaration of running full out.

"Hi, Mr. Harry!" I yelled at Mr. Harry as I passed his tree. Mr. Harry is a wise old Noctowl who lives near our section of the river. When my family was here, it was one generalized living area, but since they left, it has become polarized into two separate areas. I live in one, whereas my cousin lives in the other.

Some of my friends think Mr. Harry is intimidating, but I think he's cool. You should have seen him the time he saved me from that Mightyena! My mom invited him to dinner and thanked him continually the whole time. Mr. Harry just kept smiling and saying it was no trouble at all.

We've been friends ever since. Whenever I pass by his tree, he always has something wise to say or an interesting piece of news. Sometimes he even shares a cup of tea with us. My friends all think I'm cool for being friends with him, but I just say they should be more relaxed around him. Especially Artimus, my Cyndaquil friend. He flinches every time he sees Mr. Harry at all. He's timid at best, outright cowardly at worst.

Mr. Harry hooted out his greetings, and I continued along my path. As I did, I ran across my best friend, Henry. Henry is a Dratini, and he's my best friend in whole world. My cousin and I are pretty close too, but he's family, so he doesn't count.

"Hiya, Henry!" I called out as I slowed my pace to talk to him (Dratini aren't very fast out of the water, and my Pokemon friends who walk on land can't keep up with me very well anyway).

Henry seemed startled by my sudden appearance, but glad to see me all the same. His face slowly unfurled into a grin as he greeted me in return. We talked for a bit, and I promised to play with him after lunch. We agreed to meet by the river near Mr. Harry's tree, and went our separate ways.

As I bounded along, I finally saw my destination: a small burrow, with chimney sticking out of the ground.

My home.


	2. Downriver Visit

**(Author's Note): I apologize for any confusion regarding what used to be "Chapter 2: Downriver Visit". I'm still trying to get used to this screwy layout. I'm almost (_almost)_ positive as to how it works now, so hopefully this won't happen again. Here's the proper chapter.**

I scampered inside the hole, eager to eat. My mom would still have to add the berries to whatever she was cooking, but the sooner I delivered the berries, the sooner lunch would be done. But when I arrived my mother looked up, startled by my sudden arrival (as are most people). I had momentarily forgotten that I was back so early.

"Oh, hi honey." She said, recovering from her momentary shock. "I didn't expect you to be back so early." Her smile became more warm and welcoming as she regained her wits. "I swear, you're getting faster every day."

"Yup!" I answered enthusiastically. I bounded over to my sister, who was just beginning to wake up. Abbey is only old enough to use very few and simple words, but she still likes to play with me. She mewed excitedly as she saw me. We spent the next hour playing around in the cozy little burrow while mom prepared lunch.

As we sat down Abbey looked curiously at her own bowl of soup. Once she discovered what it was, she began to enjoy hers noisily. My mom and I watched affectionately.

"She's growing bigger every day, isn't she?" Commented my mom. "I was thinking about taking her on her first trip outside the burrow sometime next week…"

"Aww, cool, can I come!?" I asked excitedly.

"Certainly." My mother smiled. "In the meantime, though, I've got a surprise for you…" She walked around to the other side of the burrow, and retrieved a rolled-up piece of parchment. "A Pidgey messenger came earlier today. It delivered this: It's from Aunt Tina."

Aunt Tina, needless to say is my aunt. She's still an Eevee. When I asked her why, she said she never really wanted to grow up, and even though she had gotten older and wiser, at heart she had stayed the same by remaing an Eevee. If she had sent a message, it was probably to set up a play date with my cousin.

"She was wondering if you could come over and play with Illumination." Just as I thought. Illumination is my cousin. His mom named him that because she wanted him to enlighten others with his good example. He hates the name, so he changes it every time I come over. Last time, (actually he was the one coming over here that time) he was Black Moon. He thinks it sounds cool, but I say it sounds weird.

"If you leave now, you can be there before sundown" Said my mom, smiling at my excitement. There was something about her wording that seemed wrong, though…

"Hey mom?" I asked worriedly, "Who's going to escort me?" Whenever me or Illumination go over to the others' to play, we have to be escorted by our mothers or another adult Pokemon. Our stretch of woodland is relatively safe, but bad Pokemon wander in every once in a while (actually, I was trying to sneak over to my cousin's when that Mightyena attacked me. Luckily, my mom was too busy thanking Mr. Harry to bust me for that one). Abbey can't be left alone, so mainly it was Aunt Tina's job to do this. However, my mom's wording made it sound like I was going alone. Which was impossible, of course. That was something I could do one I was older, when I was strong and brave and invincible.

"Ah, yes, about that, honey." My mom's smile grew wider, as if she was on the verge of revealing some wonderful gift. "I've talked about that to Aunt Tina, and I think that you're old enough to go over there by yourself."

For a few seconds, I just stood there, not daring to believe it. Then, with a mighty whoop, I started to run around the room, shouting as I went: "I'm going by myself! I'm going by myself! Yippee! I'm going by myself! Whoohoo! I'm going by myself…"

Abbey watched me zoom around the room curiously, mewing as though asking what all the excitement was about.

"Slow down, Honey! You're going to knock over something!" warned my mother, smiling all the same. "I still think it'd be safer if you brought a friend along, so maybe you should go find Henry, and ask him to come along."

"Double Whoohoo!" I yelled, running out the burrow without further ado. I had agreed to play with Henry anyway, so this was perfect. I found him at the prearranged site, just like we had planed. I quickly explained what was going on, and he agreed to come.

Henry doesn't have to ask permission from his parents, because he doesn't have any. He's been an orphan for as long as I can remember. Most of the time he lives in the wild alone, but especially when he was younger, he lived with woodlanders who were sympathetic towards him (which was most; even though things had gotten rougher and more lawless since the majority of my clan left, most of the woodlanders are still a happy, open, gentle bunch). I actually met him when my mom offered to watch him for a week. We've been friends ever since. He refuses to talk about his parents or how they died when I ask him about it, and eventually I decided to respect his privacy and drop it.

I realized that in my haste I had forgotten to get any supplies or even say good by, so I hurried back home (somewhat slower than usual, 'cause I had to wait for Henry) to do so. My mom gave us supplies (mainly snacks; moms are nice like that, to know exactly what you need without even telling them) in a big, blue, white polka-dotted knapsack. Then she hugged me and kissed me goodbye, and then we were on our way.

Sometimes I still think about that; the last moment in my life that I could truly be considered "normal." I wonder sometimes whether it was destiny that could be so cruel, or whether it was the work of an unconscious, uncaring universe, and that I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I get a feeling that it was supposed to happen. Maybe I'm cursed. Maybe if I stayed, even greater calamity would have befallen my compassionate, caring Mother, my cute, sweet little Sister, and the rest of the woodlanders.

Within a few hours, whether I liked it or not, I would start a path to great power. But with that power would come a terrible price…


	3. Galactic Abduction

**(Author's note): Sorry this took so long. Due to a mixture of schoolwork and trying to become a technician for the school play, I've been a little busy (the technician thing will be real impediment come January, by the way). In any case, this will be the last "happy childhood" chapter. After this, the series will take a much darker tone.**

Me and Henry continued along our way, laughing, joking, and eating the berries in the knapsack. I couldn't believe how exited I was. Me, my cousin, and my best friend, all about to be together… It was like a daydream come true. Nothing could beat it. It was totally sweet…

I was interrupted from my euphoric reflections by a sound up ahead. Looking up, I noticed two incredibly tall figures, with green-ish turquoise hair, dressed in white and black Jumpsuits with an insignia on their chests. These, I realized, must be humans.

"Hey, Henry! Do you see those guys up there? I think they're humans! Henry?" I asked confusedly, for my serpentine friend had suddenly disappeared.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! And get in here!" the Dratini whispered forcefully from a nearby bush.

"Why?" I asked my suddenly suspicious friend, disappearing into the bush with him all the same. "Aren't they humans? Henry, I think they're Pokemon trainers! Wouldn't it be cool if they caught us? We could travel all over, see things we've never seen before…"

"Nah, I don't think they're trainers. Pokemon trainers are mainly children, and humans grow vertically. These are too tall to be trainers…" Whispered Henry, narrowing his eyes in concentration at the tall figures.

"Not _all_ Pokemon trainers are children. Anyway, how would you know how tall they're supposed to be? You've never even seen a human." Henry was about to say something when I started to drag him out of the bush. Henry vehemently protested, but he was no match for my superior strength. I dragged him over to the humans, and stood there, waiting for something to happen.

One of the humans (which I'm pretty sure was female) noticed out presence. "Hello, what do we have here…? An Eevee and a Dratini? Excellent. They're both worth quite a bit…" I wasn't really sure what she was saying, but I was positive it had something to do with us becoming part of their team.

"How so…?" Asked the second one, which was male.

"Use your brains, Joe. Even you couldn't sit through a briefing without absorbing anything. Eevee is worth lot because of its many powerful evolutions. Dratini is exceedingly rare, and Cyrus has placed an extra-large bounty on Dragon-type Pokemon. This could be it. With these two, we'll rise pretty far in Team Galactic. Then we just keep climbing…" I was rapidly losing interest in these humans and their strange speech. Anyway and 'sides, I realized I couldn't leave. Aunt Tina was expecting me, and my mother would be heartbroken. And Abbey was going on her first trip outside the burrow next week. I couldn't leave now.

"C'mon, let's just go." I muttered to Henry, who let out an audible sigh of relief. We had just barley started away when one of the humans shouted behind us "Oh no y'don't." The next thing I knew, I was being hoisted up by my tail. I let out a cry of distress as the knapsack fell out of my reach. After a few minutes of being carried through the wood in this fashion, I was slammed into the bed of a truck. I was greeted by a familiar Eevee.

"Hey 'cuz." I grinned, despite my predicament. "How'd you end up here?"

"You were taking so long I decided to come get you myself." Joked my energetic cousin. "What took you so long?"

"I didn't get your mom's message 'till after lunch. So, what's your name now?" I asked. "Or are you still Black Moon?"

"I thought about keeping it for a while, but then I decided that I needed a change. Behold, the power that is: Solar Wind!" Shouted my cousin, striking an excessively elegant pose. I was laughing too hard to respond.

Ignoring my hilarity with exaggerated dignity, my cousin greeted Henry. "Any way out of this?" I asked, returning to the problem at hand, looking at the walls of the truck.

"Nope." My cousin informed me. "The walls can't be climbed or jumped. I hope my mom isn't too worried. I didn't tell her where I was going…" I rolled my eyes. My cousin has a habit of trying to run off into the woods to our place ever other day. Most of the time, though, he's caught before he manages to get more than 20 feet.

I looked around. Also in the truck bed was a Psyduck, Gloom, Ekans, and various other Pokemon. Suddenly, floor beneath us vibrated. Wherever we going, we where on our way there.

Several hours later, a certain Flareon stopped her persistent cries for her offspring and his friends. Bonnie had first realized something was wrong when Tina (her sister-in-law) came to her door, asking if Illumination was there. Whereas she had first been a mixture of exasperated and jovial, both mothers had quickly become concerned as they swapped stories and realized that both Eevee were missing. Leaving Abbey in the care of Jenney (Bonnie's Corsola friend), they had searched the woods in-between the houses for the rest of the day. Now, at sunset, Bonnie realized that she needed to be back. She couldn't search for Dash in the dark, and lost she would be good to no one.

"Bonnie? I think it's too dark to search anymore…" Ventured Tina, saying what they both knew but didn't want to admit. Bonnie nodded, too overcome to speak. Tina, noting her mood, put a paw of comfort around her. Good old Tina. She had really helped Bonnie out during her pregnancy when Jet had been away, and she had been her friend throughout all these years. Even now, when she had her own kit to worry about, she was doing what she could do to alleviate Bonnie's pain.

Without warning, Bonnie broke down into tears. Ignoring Tina's concerned cries, she cast herself upon the ground, howling in agony. She knew she should be offering comfort to Tina, but she didn't. She knew she was being horribly conceited for not trying to comfort Tina when she must be in as much pain as she herself was, but she didn't care. First she had lost Jet, and Dash had become her life. Now he was gone… She was sure he was gone forever. The precious haven in her life had been violated and destroyed. She truly wondered whether or not it was worth it continuing to live...

**(Author's note): I'll leave it somewhat ambiguous as to whether or not Bonnie actually commits suicide. Because I love being intentionally cruel like that. ;-) Also, you can expect a companion story to this one soon. Not immediately, but soon.**


	4. NB EM 136

After my kidnapping, I was moved to a Galactic building in Eterna city. There, my designation # was NB-EM-136. What it meant was that I was the 136th naturally bred male Eevee to be tested in the lab. The testing involved many studies of the Eevee nervous system, how it reacted to certain stimulus, and how fast it did so. Most of the time, the studies were quite painful.

However, that was nothing compared to Illumination ("NB-EM-135"). He was transferred to a potion of the lab where they were testing experimental status boosters. Very few Pokemon survived that section, for the status enhancers had many detrimental side effects, and were far from perfect.

Henry ("NB-DM-63"), from what I understand, was too valuable for any of the testing, for fear he might perish in the process (which was unfortunately a very real risk). He was directly put in for rigorous training (but it was softer than most, for Pokemon still died even while training to receive a trainer in the normal training procedure). He was going to be given to a high-ranking Galactic member, or possibly Cyrus himself. In a dark, irrational part of my heart I was jealous of his (relatively) cushy assignment, but mainly I was glad that such a gentle soul as Henry, while still probably suffering, was not exposed to the suffering and horror that was in the rest of the lab.

Once, I even caught a glimpse of the infamous AS-LF-3, a female Lucario, with two heavily armed guards. I didn't know much about her series, the "AS" series, but that it was the pinnacle of years of research at the lab. There was a rumor that the AS series was the start of an even more dangerous project, the GE series, but I wasn't really concerned anyway. It had little to do with my suffering, and at that point I wasn't concerned with much else.

From what I understand, if me and Illumination had survived the testing, we would have been trained intensively, and had our abilities evaluated. We then would be given a designated evolution, forced to evolve, and given to a Galactic member (not a grunt but not a big-shot either; direct cloning procedures had caused Eevee to be more common in the Galactic ranks then anywhere else).

I say "if" because we did _not_ stay at the lab. If I thought that Hell existed in the lab, I was beyond wrong. That was not even a taste of the horror that life can conjure. Pain can exist in a way that it is beyond pain. I was sadly about to learn that fact.

3 months and 14 days after I was brought to the lab, I was woken by the sound of something stealthily slithering over the other Pokemon in my holding pen. I wasn't awake enough to get a proper look at my attacker, because as soon as I was awake, I was knocked over the head, causing my immediate unconsciousness.

I don't exactly remember when I was put into the tank. It's hard to remember anything from that period, because of the pain. The pain! How can I describe it!? It was constant, chronic, and yet it never diminished. In most cases, constant pain is numbed after a while, like background noise. In my case, however, the pain remained fresh every second of my experimentation.

I remember at one point that I realized that I could go outside of my body. One second, I was merely existing, all my brain functions shut down except for the meanest, bitterest thought and the ability to feel pain, when suddenly I was looking down at myself, literally _down_ at myself. I was inside a large, circular tube, suspended in this orange liquid, wires running in and out of my body. With a jolt, I realized that I was _outside_ my body. The pain was not diminished, but distant, as though I was feeling it across a long tunnel. Frowning, I turned my attention to my surroundings.

Whereas the Galactic building had been mainly white, with an orange "G" insignia every once in a while, this place was dark, with no visible markings on the walls. Turing my attention to the bottom of the tube, I realized the glass tube was on a dark stand, with a red "R" at the bottom, and the "#27." Puzzled, I returned to my body, which was quite easy, kind of like falling asleep, just intentional.

When I took my next venture out of my body later (Hours, days, maybe even months later; Pain like that really will distract you from anything else), I was startled to notice a change in my appearance. My ears were elongated, and the tips were pointy and yellowish. My fur had started to bunch itself into pointed bunches, and my tail had separated into several smaller tails, which were migrating to the outer edges of my rump. I had seen a Jolteon at the lab, and I realized that I was slowly taking on the appearance of one while floating in this liquid.

You must understand that mostly, I only felt pain, never any other sensation and almost never a coherent thought. My brain had mostly shut down to deal with the pain (but something in the wires or the liquid must've stopped me from ever going completely unconscious). I had no idea I had been changing at all. Yet here I was, evidently evolving into a Jolteon.

Something else bothered me. As far as I knew, evolution was spontaneous, immediate, lasting only a few seconds. And yet, I was evolving at a painfully slow rate. At least when I was in the Galactic lab, I knew exactly what they were doing to me, even if I didn't like it. Now, for the first time in ages, I was genuinely scared. What as happening to me?

**(Author's Note): I hope I'm being descriptive enough. If there is any obscurity as to what things feel/look like, please let me know.**


	5. Escape

Unspecified time passed, but it felt like a long time. I went out of my body more and more frequently, and learned a bit more.

I assumed that the first few times had been during the night, because the lab seemed pretty busy at other times. Researchers in white lab coats kept running in and out, examining results and rushing off, all with a red "R" insignia on their coats.

Unfortunately, I couldn't hear in this "spiritual" form, but it was pretty easy to figure out that they were studying us. And not just studying… Editing. Altering. Meddling…

I knew that there were others, because I had seen their tanks, but my vision in this form was not good, and I couldn't make them out. Later however, I managed to make contact with them through telepathy.

It appeared that the others had gained psychic powers as well, and had been communicating with each other for some time. We didn't speak in words, but thoughts were communicated just as (if not more) effectively through thoughts and feelings.

Discovering the others was a great comfort. We managed to support each other in spite of our pain. It was hard to discern individual Pokemon in this "joint mind", but I could tell that Henry and Solar Wind (Illumination) were also there.

Oddly enough, the researchers couldn't detect our composite mind. Henry let me see what was happening to his body, and I could see that it was becoming elongated, serpentine, and small wings were starting to grow out of his neck.

Also, one of the Pokemon in the composite mind identified the researchers as those from Team Rocket. I also learned that the wood my family had been living in was right on the border of the two human regions, "Johto" and "Kanto". The two Galactic scouts had been sent to gather exotic Pokemon (and had succeeded, as me and Henry knew too well), and had shipped us to a large island in the north; Sinnoh.

It made me queasy to realize I was so far from home. Of course, nobody knew where we were now. Like me, they had all been knocked out prior to coming here.

And so it continued, the pain and monotonous observation, desperate to find something we hadn't noted before, but no new stuff came up. Every now and then, the scientists would adjust the flow of liquids in our tubes, but that was all. We couldn't read what was on the monitors because nobody in the composite mind could read human characters, but everybody was watching, with one mind always observing every few feet.

And then it happened.

All at once, the hive mind was cut off. I couldn't hear the others. After being with them for so long, being away from them was like having your arm cut off. I felt alone, and afraid.

I realized that I was no longer floating. The liquid was draining out of my containment tube. Once it was all out, the clear glass disappeared completely. The wires were still in my body. As terrified as I was, my first thought was to yank them out.

So I did. Using my bigger-than-used-to jaw, I tugged at the wires (which were of various sizes) from my body, which for some reason did not bleed. Alarms were going off, red lights flashing and a loud horn blaring. I could see and hear that the others had been released too, and were making a break for it. I tried to join them, but could barley make it down from what used to be the base of the tube, my muscles almost nonexistent after lack of use so long.

The rest is a blur. I don't remember much. I do distinctly remember collapsing in the cold snow, and muttering in impolite word I had learned from the humans into the snow.

But try as I might, I still couldn't remember how I got out of the lab.


	6. Awakening

**(Author's note): Ugh... Another short chapter. Sorry, but I've been kinda busy lately (if by busy you mean completly booked). And, believe it or not, it's gonna get worse come January. I'll be running on 6-7 hours of sleep, with a 3-hour window each day to do all my homework, take a shower, and prepare breakfast for the next day. Sounds fun, doesn't it?**

The first thing I noted was pain. But this pain was different. It wasn't like the pain from the lab. It was more like… A soreness. Yes, that was the word. I was sore. But why?

As I woke up, I opened my eyes. I was in a sort of burrow, not unlike the one I used to live in. Back before I was kidnapped…

With a jolt, I remembered everything. Where was I? How did I get here? I scrutinized my surroundings more closely. I was definitely a Pokemon dwelling, not a human one. Even human naturalists didn't dig burrows.

There was a hole leading up to the surface, from which a grayish light shown down, which meant that it was cloudy. There was also a hole leading off into what was presumably sleeping chambers.

"Oh goody, you're awake!" exclaimed a female Bibarel, who emerged from the side chamber. "We found you collapsed in the snow outside our burrow. We brought you in here."

Several seconds of silence followed. I continued to study her, my eyes narrowed. It then occurred to me that she expected some sort of response. It was evident even to me that my time at the lab had deprived me of my social skills.

"Uh… Thank you." I half-muttered. Beaming nonetheless at my response, the Bibarel called "Honey? He's awake!"

During the next hour or so, the Bibarel couple fed me lunch and we talked. At several intervals there were awkward pauses in which I tried desperately to think of something to say, but couldn't. Almost everything I knew was related to lab procedures and surviving in a lab. I suddenly realized what a bad situation I was in: I had never learned to survive in an uncontrolled environment. In the lab, the idea was to comply, to not draw attention to yourself, and to numb yourself, make yourself indifferent to the pain around you.

But in an uncontrolled environment, it wasn't like that. You had to be decisive; to get food, mates, and shelter you had to beat everyone else to them. It hadn't been like that where I lived, but our woodland had been pretty peaceful, and I suspected I had been sheltered from the more barbaric side of life. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought, but if I had learned one thing during my time in the lab, it was that Murphy's Law was true.

Reluctant to intrude upon the Bibarel's hospitality any longer, I turned to leave. Mrs. Bibarel worried about me, asking me if I knew where I was and if I had a place to stay. I realized that it was foolish to refuse, but I said I did anyway. "Can I have your name at least?" asked Mrs. Bibarel as I left.

"NB-EM-136" I replied promptly, wincing at my automatic response, which sounded stiff and memorized. The Bibarel couple looked at me curiously. Struggling to remember my birth name, I replied "Uhh… Dash."

The Bibarel couple looked at each other, surprised. "Surely not Dash, the son of Bonnie?" exclaimed Mr. Bibarel. "I thought he disappeared before we even moved here…"

I scarcely dared believe my ears. But it could be a coincidence. I needed further clarification. "What specie is this Bonnie?" I inquired, hoping against hope that I would get the response I wanted.

"A Flareon." replied Mrs. Bibarel. "And she has a daughter named Abbey."

At least now I knew where I was.

**(Author's note): Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong _will _go wrong.**


	7. Reunion

Quickly, I was rushed downriver to confirm that I was the missing Dash. As we approached, I could tell it was the same burrow. The chimney had been replaced, but otherwise it was the same location, same entrance. Mrs. Bibarel called down the entrance hole.

"Bonnie? Bonnie?! Are you there?"

"Yes, come in." called a distant female voice, too remote for me to identify. We quickly went down the hole and into the burrow. When we came down, I could see that the burrow had been heavily altered underground, despite all familiarity from above. While some portions were still recognizable as the single room where my family had slept and ate, it was now clearly an elaborate underground mansion. What used to be the only room had been widened, and elaborate tunnels led off to many side-chambers.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Said a female Flareon as she emerged from one of the side-tunnels. This was undoubtedly my mother. She seemed a bit older, but she was still perfectly recognizable. "It's been too long, Mr. and Mrs. Bibarel! What a pleasure to see you again. What a snowstorm we had the other day, eh? I worried about you two, what with your burrow being closer to the surface and all-"

"We can catch up later, Bonnie." Replied Mrs. Bibarel hurriedly. "We've got something a bit more urgent right now. Do you recognize this Jolteon here?" She asked, pointing to me. I waited, unconsciously holding my breath.

She studied me for a moment, then, smiling warmly, replied "No, I'm afraid I don't. Should I? I'm sorry, I generally remember people's faces and names, but sometimes it slips my mind. Would you care to re-enlighten me?"

I could feel my ears drooping in disappointment. Then I chastised myself for acting like a child. I had been an Eevee when she had last seen me. It was illogical for me to assume she would recognize me right away. For that matter, why would she even want me back? I was no longer an important part of her life. She had clearly gotten on fine without me, and had transformed the burrow into a grand and spacious home. Why would she want to take me in? I'd just be an unwelcome burden. I couldn't allow myself to hope. Hope was vulnerability. Your enemies could use it against you, to torment you. It was a weakness in your mental armor. I had been foolish to allow myself to hope even as much as I had.

I sort of stood there silently while the Bibarel couple explained how they had found me, and who I claimed to be. Despite myself, I felt touched when tears formed in my mother's eyes when my name was mentioned. She then asked me "I hope sincerely that you are my lost Dash, but I need to be sure: What was Dash doing before he disappeared?"

"Heading over to his cousin's house." I replied. "He… _I _was excited because it was the first time I could go by myself. I brought along Henry, my Dratini friend, and you gave me a knapsack filled with berries for the trip."

With a sob, my mother rushed towards me and pulled me into a warm embrace. For the first time in ages, I felt like I was home.

Just then, a female Glaceon entered the room, looking at me confusedly. "Oh, hi mom. Who's this?" She inquired.

My mom broke the hug and tried to explain to her. "Well, honey… It's kind of sudden… I don't know how to say it, but… This is your lost brother, Abbey."

It was hard to tell who was more shocked, me or her. When I had thought of home, I had always accepted that if I ever made it back some things would have changed. But in my daydreams, Abbey had never been anything other than what she was when I left her: A small, cute Eevee who was just learning her first words. I had never even considered the possibility that she would be anything else. Yet here she was: A graceful, beautiful Glaceon. It was hard to accept so suddenly.

It got worse: she was joined a few seconds later by a handsome young Leafeon. "Oh, this is Percy, Abbey's fiancée, sweetie." Explained my mom.

Fiancée? Ugh. Suddenly I didn't feel so good. I felt tired, nauseous, and dizzy. I began to tremble involuntarily. Without a word, I walked off and curled up in a corner. Everyone watched me concernedly, but I paid them no attention. I knew what was happening.

Sensory overload. It was a broad term, and could apply to many things, but I knew what it meant in this case: I was trying to absorb too much information too fast. My brain couldn't handle all of the new information at once. Because of this, my brain engaged psychosomaticism. Basically, my body forced itself to be sick so that I would stop absorbing new information.

After taking deep breaths and trying to relax for a few minutes, it passed. I went back and explained everything to everyone. Everyone offered their sympathy, and we spent the rest of the day talking. Percy seems like a nice guy, despite my initial shock at seeing him.

The Bibarels departed about noon. As for the rest of us, we spent the rest of the day and well into the night talking, catching up on things. I could tell that everyone was wondering where I had been for so long, but they didn't press me for details, and I was too tired to relate the whole thing tonight. Eventually, we were forced to retire. I was eager to go to sleep, considering how mentally drained I was from the day. Mom gave me a room to myself, and I curled up gratefully. Before long, I was fast asleep.


	8. Alarmed

**(Author's note): Procrastination is a wonderful thing. It let's you watch all the episodes of Lost and Code Geass that you want. Unfortunately, it also probably gets a lot of people very angry with you, and for that I apologize. This takes place from Abbey's POV, by the way.**

"Goodnight, Abbey," whispered Percy as he kissed me goodnight. I returned the farewell (and the kiss), and then headed off to bed. I was emotionally exhausted, drained from the day's excitement. Dash… Was he really back? I mean, I know that's what everybody said, but it was hard to believe. I only had faint memories of the now-Jolteon, and almost everything I knew of his personality I had learned through stories lovingly and sometimes tearfully told to me by my mother.

If what mom had told me was true, than this withdrawn, cautious Jolteon was truly what my energetic, playful brother had become. It made me wonder: what had happened to him? He seemed almost… I wasn't sure I could put a word on it. Stressed? Disturbed? Maybe even… Traumatized? It was hard to tell.

I passed his room on my way to my own. I paused a second to look at him. He was curled into a ball, almost defensively, it seems to me. His face was buried in his fur. He rolled over so that his head was now resting on his front legs. I had a perfect view of his face.

It looked troubled, his face curled into a frown. Then the twitching began. It started on the ridge above his left eye. It twitched upward, followed by more twitching around the nose and eyes. Before long, he started growling. His teeth bared, the growling started as a low, soft sound, and then suddenly intensified. Electricity crackled through his fur, and I stood, transfixed. Then, his grow turned into a sudden bark of rage, and that broke me from my reverie. Backing away, slowly, I suddenly broke into a run, getting out of there as fast as I could. I heard the sound of the electricity intensifying in the room behi-

BOOM!

A deafening explosion roared behind me. I was lifted off my feet, one of the more curious sensations I've ever experienced. It was literally like flying, only you didn't expect it. Not that I had time to think that.

I was momentarily stunned. As I picked myself up, I looked toward to the direction of the explosion. Slowly, cautiously, I peeked into his room. Since it was all underground, the electricity had little effect on his room or the outside corridor. And there he was, still fast asleep and seemed to have slept through the whole thing. No longer twitching, but his mouth was still frowning slightly. Rolling over, he curled into a ball again, his face now hidden from me. Confused and more than slightly alarmed, I hurried off to bed.

**(Author's note): Reviews will be especially appreciated at this time.**


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